Julio Rodríguez's latest gaffe only reinforces MLB's reported disrespect for Mariners

Evidence just keeps piling up that the 2026 Seattle Mariners are not a good baseball team, but that also feels beside the point. What has really stood out as they have spiraled to 10 games below .500 is how bad they are at the actual game of baseball, which was apparently not lost on the most knowledgeable of ball-knowers even before Julio Rodríguez stepped in it.

Or should that be "slid" in it? Because honestly, what the heck was this play on Roman Anthony's line drive to center field on Monday?

Both Julio and Dan Wilson were in damage control mode after that play led to the Boston Red Sox tying and eventually winning a 9-8 game in the 10th inning. The former said his "instincts" told him to go for the ball. The latter tried to write the whole thing off as a miscalculation, saying "the difficult part of that decision is understanding, you know, how close you can get.”

The actual reality of the situation is damning. Julio was never close to catching that ball. And even if he had been, the stakes should have had him playing it safe. Maybe a center fielder goes for a ball like that if it's do or die, but not when it's the leadoff batter in the ninth inning of a one-run game. As situational awareness sins go, this is so much worse than when Julio forgot the outs in Milwaukee.

The book is out on how the Mariners get in their own way, and it's an indictment of the organization

Anyway, all this is just an excuse to hit on what Bob Dutton, formerly of the Tacoma News Tribune and the Kansas City Star, heard from a friend who's also an MLB scout:

Just wait until they beat themselves, huh? Well, one supposes that can also be said about good baseball teams. Lest anyone forget, this was also the book on the 2024 New York Yankees even after they reached the World Series.

That's the best deflection we've got, and it's not going to bring anyone any comfort. Least of all at this moment, as Julio's misplay was arguably one of the lesser crimes against baseball committed by the Mariners on Monday.

Though they scored eight runs, they had opportunities to score more. A bases-loaded, no-out rally that had already scored a run in the fifth yielded no more after that. Dominic Canzone's own leadoff triple in the ninth led to nothing. In the 10th inning, Wilson's decision to gift Aroldis Chapman a free out by having Victor Robles bunt inevitably led to nothing.

All this is typical for a team that never seems to know what to do when it's not hitting the long ball. Bad situational hitting is a key ingredient in the toxic stew. Add in consistently bad defense and a general aversion to performing in the clutch, and you get a team that is no more capable of winning games on the margins than it is of winning games any other way.

Wilson is obviously complicit, as it's hard not to draw a line from his general aloofness and refusal to hold anyone accountable to the team's poor fundamentals. Yet this also goes all the way to the top.

Jerry Dipoto and the front office have demonstrated a good eye for talent, yet they have missed the boat on a recent shift within baseball. Great teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are increasingly associated with sound fundamentals and situational awareness. The Red Sox are proof that a franchise can recognize a need to catch up and benefit from doing exactly that. They have won 43 of their last 60 games this year largely because they have minimized mistakes and maximized opportunities.

After going to the ALCS last year, the Mariners took a "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach to preparing for 2026. If that didn't always look short-sighted, it sure does now. It is broke and it must be fixed.

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